


First Meetings

by pupeez4eva



Series: Modern AU [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, First Meetings, Fugaku is Kushina's arch nemesis, Humor, Mikoto and Kushina are BFFs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-14 21:54:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16921113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pupeez4eva/pseuds/pupeez4eva
Summary: Wherein Kushina falls out of a tree and straight onto the coolest guy ever (even if it takes her a while to come to that conclusion).





	First Meetings

**Author's Note:**

> Finally back with more for this series, and this time it's focused on the parents (specifically, Kushina's and Minato's first meeting). While you don't necessarily have to read the other three fics to understand this, just be aware that it's part of the same series, so everything in this universe is connected.
> 
> Enjoy!

Kushina had known something was wrong with her best friend for a while now, but in her wildest dreams (and she had a pretty vivid imagination — the copious amount of fan fiction she’d written over the years was a testament to that), she never would’ve pictured _this._

 

Mikoto, the _traitor,_ was on a date with _Fugaku Uchiha._

 

She wouldn’t even have noticed if she hadn’t been embroiled in a one-woman-protest against the chopping down of _the_ nicest tree in the entirety of the College grounds. Apparently they wanted to extend one of the campuses — Kushina didn’t really care about the reasoning. The tree was right next to her favourite place to get ramen, and she loved sitting under it, enjoying the dual comfort of the lovely shade and her favourite meal.

 

 _No one_ else seemed to care though. She’d handed out fliers, followed people around, yelled in their faces, and _no one_ seemed to want to join in. Didn’t they _understand_ that by cutting down this tree for stupid reasons like _building more classrooms,_ they were ruining the wonderful lunch experiences for so many college students like herself? This was the perfect lunch spot, dammit!

 

She’d been perched on one of the branches, yelling variations of, “Save the tree!” “Trees have feelings too, ya know!” and “Don’t let them ruin ramen! We deserve a nice spot to sit and enjoy our lunches you _tyrants!”_

 

(So far she’d just received a lot of odd glances. She’d briefly caught the attention of a small crowd, but they seemed more content with gawking at her and whispering to each other for a while before dispersing, so that didn’t help much).

 

Seeing Mikoto and Fugaku had been completely by chance, and had caught Kushina completely of guard. She’d been shifting her position, trying to find a more comfortable one because, dammit, tree tree branches did _not_ make good seats, when they’d come into her view. They were standing further away, close to where the College cafes and restaurants were, and it took Kushina a moment to realise that they were _holding hands._

 

_Gross. SO Gross._

 

Fugaku Uchiha was an _total_ asshole and her arch nemesis. She’d decided this after he’d told her to be quiet when she’d been talking to Yoshino in class. First of all, she was _not_ being too loud, and secondly, she’d been talking about their group project! Fugaku was obviously just a moody old jerk, and Kushina didn’t like him. Mikoto _knew_ that, so what was she doing with him?!

 

People were _not_ supposed to date their best friend’s arch nemeses. 

 

Kushina watched them, protest momentarily forgotten, and gagged out loud when Mikoto smiled at Fugaku. And _Fugaku smiled back._ Kushina hadn’t even known that Fugaku _knew_ how to smile, what with the jerk always alternating between glaring at the table or the wall in their history class.

 

Her eyes widened in alarm when she saw Mikoto lean towards Fugaku and realised, in panic, that they were about to _kiss._

 

“Mikoto, _no!”_ she yelped, arms waving, completely forgetting that she was currently suspended in the air on a tree branch. 

 

Mikoto and Fugaku both froze and whirled towards her, and Kushina had enough time to think, _‘Ha take that, you jerk! You’re not going to take advantage of MY best friend!’_ before she lost her balance and promptly toppled off the branch, shrieking on her way down. 

 

She landed on something hard and human shaped, and spent a moment marvelling that she hadn't broken any bones, before she realised that there was a person beneath her, and he or she probably had.

 

“Oh shit!” she yelled, jumping off. “Oh my god, I didn’t mean to! It was all Fugaku’s fault! Please don’t be dead!”

 

“Kushina!” she heard Mikoto yell. Her best friend skidded to a halt beside her. “Oh my god, are you okay?!”

 

“What do you mean _my fault?”_ Fugaku demanded.

 

Kushina pointed frantically at the limp body, her eyes wide. “I fell on — uh — ” She leaned forward, studying the person she’d fallen on, and recognised him as that weird blonde guy from her politics class who was always staring in her direction, and who Kushina had appropriately dubbed, “Weird-Blonde-Guy-Who-Stares-A lot.”

 

Oh God, she’d _killed_ Weird-Blonde-Guy-Who-Stares-A lot!

 

“Oh _shit!”_ Mikoto said, staring at the figure on the floor. She hurried over, and knelt next to him. “One of you, call an ambulance!”

 

Neither her nor Fugaku moved.

 

“Hey!” she said, shooting a glare in their direction. “This guy doesn’t look good, so you might want to — ”

 

There was a groan and Weird-Blonde-Guy shifted slightly, and then opened his eyes, blinking blearily. “Wha — ?”

 

“Hey sit down,” Mikoto said firmly, pushing him down as he attempted to get up. “You just — had an accident.” 

 

“It was Fugaku’s fault!” Kushina declared.

 

The man shot her an incredulous look. _“What?!_ What the hell is that supposed to mean?!” 

 

“If you hadn’t been trying to kiss my best friend, I never would’ve fallen off that tree! And on that topic — Mikoto, _what the hell?!_ Why would you kiss my arch nemesis!” 

 

“What?” Fugaku demanded. “I barely know you!”

 

Kushina snorted. _“Please._ You snapped at me in class that one time, and we’ve both hated each other ever since.”

 

“Mikoto, who _is_ this lunatic?” 

 

“Are you dating him?” Kushina demanded, placing her hands on her hips, and scowling in Mikoto’s direction. “Break up with him.”

 

Mikoto shot them both an exasperated stare, ignoring Fugaku’s furious, _“Excuse_ me?!”. “Can we focus on the injured guy that Kushina just _fell_ on?”

 

Weird-Blonde-Guy shook his head weakly. “Oh no, go on. I’m fine. Really.”

 

Huh. The guy wasn’t even being sarcastic. Kushina always knew there was something strange about him. If someone had fallen on _her,_ she would’ve kicked their butt.

 

She paused, glancing down at herself, and realising that if Weirdo (because honestly, Weird Blonde Guy Who Stares A lot, and even Weird Blonde Guy, were all becoming a bit too much of a mouthful to keep saying) hadn’t broken her fall, _she_ might be the one lying on the floor right now. 

 

Huh. Weirdo had saved her life. 

 

She walked over to him and glanced down. 

 

“Hey! You saved me,” she said. He blinked up at her, and his eyes widened. 

 

“Kushina?” 

 

“You know my name?” She wasn’t too sure how to feel about that.

 

“Uh…yeah. We have a class together…?” 

 

She waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, I know _that._ But I don’t know your name, and I’ve just been calling you — ” Her voice cut off abruptly as she realised that maybe telling the guy who had just saved her what she usually referred to him as probably wasn’t the nicest thing to do. “Uh, what is your name?” 

 

“Minato,” he said, sounding slightly dazed. 

 

“Have neither of you called an ambulance yet?” Mikoto demanded.

 

“Oh I’m okay,” Weirdo — Minato, apparently — said, pushing himself off the floor, ignoring Mikoto’s protests. “I — oh God.” He stumbled, tilting slightly, and Kushina reached out and caught him. He blinked at her, eyes wide and pupils dilated, and it occurred to Kushina that he probably had a concussion. He was also a lot prettier than she’d realised — seriously, guy’s weren’t meant to be that pretty!

 

“I’m fine,” he said weakly.

 

“Oh Jesus,” Fugaku groaned, rubbing his forehead.

 

“I really don’t need an ambulance,” Minato said, pushing away from her. He managed to walk forward a few steps, while the three of them watched warily as he staggered from side to side (it would’ve been kind of funny if Kushina wasn’t feeling really guilty about being the reason for his current state), before falling promptly forward. 

 

This time he was caught by Fugaku, who looked so uncomfortable that it made Kushina like Minato a whole lot more.

 

“Okay,” Mikoto said, rubbing her face with one hand. “If you don’t want us to call an ambulance, then let us just give you a lift to the hospital, okay?” 

 

“Yeah,” Kushina said, nodding her head. “It’s kind of my fault, and I really don’t want you to die or anything.”

 

“Huh?” Minato blinked at her, and then shook his head. “Oh don’t worry about — that. You obviously didn’t fall on me on purpose. Uh — I think? Um…”

 

Mikoto sighed. “Fugaku, go get your car.”

 

Fugaku stared at her. “What? Why do I have to drive?”

 

“Because Kushina and I took the train here, and I really don’t think Minato is up for a trip on subway, is he?” 

 

“I’m really fine,” Minato insisted, but he was still clinging onto Fugaku (who was looking steadily more uncomfortable by the second), so it wasn’t that convincing.

 

“Fine,” Fugaku ground out.

 

…

 

They dropped them off at the hospital. Kushina volunteered to stay behind with Minato, because this whole thing was her fault in the first place, even though Minato kept insisting that it was okay. It made her feel kind of bad about calling him “Weirdo” this whole time, because he was obviously a lot nicer than anyone should be allowed to be.

 

Minato was checked over, and it turned out that he was actually okay besides a slight concussion and a sprained wrist. Kushina decided that there was either something very wrong with the guy (in a good way, obviously) or that all the ramen she’d eaten over the years hadn’t affected her body as much as she’d thought.

 

They reached the hospital lobby, and Kushina realised that Fugaku and Mikoto had already headed off and they were kind of stranded here. She sighed.

 

“I’ll see if I can find a taxi,” she told him. Sure, he looked a lot better — the pain killers had probably helped — but Kushina didn’t think he’d be alright to take a bus.

 

“Huh? Oh you don’t have to — ” He paused, considering his current state, and then let out a small laugh. He had a nice laugh, she noted. “Yeah, maybe that’s actually a good idea.”

 

A short while later they were both seated in the backseat of a taxi, and Kushina decided that it’d probably be a good idea to apologise yet again. Enough time had passed since the last time, and maybe Minato had decided that it actually was her fault after all. 

 

“It’s really okay,” he repeated. “I mean it, you obviously didn’t mean to fall. You could’ve been hurt too.”

 

“I saw Fugaku and Mikoto _kissing,”_ she said, her nose wrinkling in distaste. “It was gross.”

 

“Fugaku and Mikoto?” Minato repeated, his brow furrowing. “Oh — your two friends.”

 

“My best friend and my arch nemesis,” Kushina corrected. She still felt a little indignant that Fugaku apparently _didn’t_ think of them that way.

 

“Oh. They seem nice.”

 

“Mikoto’s awesome,” she said, nodding her head. She decided not to delve into her opinion of Fugaku, because that would probably take longer than this car trip. 

 

“We have a class together, you know,” Minato said.

 

“You already said that before.”

 

Minato blinked. “Oh yeah, I did, didn’t I? Guess I can just blame this.” He pointed at his head, and smiled. 

 

“Sorry I didn’t know your name,” Kushina told him, leaning back against her seat. “I totally had a super cool nickname for you to make up for it though.”

 

Minato’s eyes widened. “You had a nickname for me?” 

 

“…Yeah.” She obviously wasn’t going to _tell_ him what it was, but he seemed oddly flattered, so Kushina guessed that she’d said the right thing. It made her feel a lot better about almost killing him today.

 

“I was actually, uh, coming over to join your protest.” 

 

Kushina stared at him, surprised. “What, really? You…care about having the perfect spot to eat ramen as well?” 

 

He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Uh…well, not exactly? I just kind of wanted to speak to you.”

 

She cocked her head to the side, her brow furrowing slightly.

 

“Not that there’s anything wrong with what you were protesting about, by the way!” he added quickly. “I think it’s cool that you’re so passionate about it!”

 

“You wanted to talk to me? Well you could’ve done that ages ago, ya know? Why are you always staring at me in class?” 

 

“Uh…” Minato flushed, looking embarrassed. Kushina frowned, feeling confused. What was going on? “So…I’ve kind of wanted to talk to you for a while? I think you’re really cool.”

 

She blinked. “What, me?” Well, obviously she was amazing, but that didn’t mean she didn’t feel a strange buzzing in her stomach at Minato’s comment.

 

“Yeah!” He nodded enthusiastically. “You’re always so passionate about topics in class. Remember, we had that lecturer a few weeks back, and he just seemed so intimidating and unwilling to accept any opposing views — and you didn’t even care, you just told him exactly what you thought! It was just really — ” He paused, as if just realising how animated he’d become. He rubbed his neck, letting out a self-conscious laugh.

 

Kushina’s cheeks felt warm, and it took her a moment to realise she was blushing. “Uh — well, he was a jerk, ya know? I wasn’t going to let him stop me from saying what I wanted!”

 

“Yeah I know,” Minato said, grinning. Kushina decided that she _really_ liked his smile.

 

The taxi pulled up in front an unfamiliar house, and as Minato unbuckled his seatbelt, Kushina realised that it was his.

 

“See you in class,” she said hurriedly, aware that she didn’t really want him to go. “Oh! And hold on a second, I’ll help you inside.” 

 

“I’m okay, really,” he insisted.

 

Kushina rolled her eyes. “Shut up. The last time you said that, you crashed into _Fugaku_ of all people. By the way — you are _awesome_ for doing that.”

 

Minato looked slightly confused at that. “Thanks?”

 

“Yeah, he looked _so_ uncomfortable! Anyone who can make Fugaku look bad is awesome in my books.” 

 

Minato smiled at her again, and Kushina’s stomach did that weird buzzing thing again. This time it was followed by somersaults. _Weird._

 

“You can come in if you want.” 

 

Kushina hesitated and then shook her head. “No, I should go. I, uh, told my sister I’d be back soon. I’ll see you in class tomorrow, okay?”

 

Minato nodded, smiling at her, and Kushina was convinced that if her stomach didn’t stop buzzing soon, there was obviously something very wrong with her.

 

She hurried back into the taxi, and climbed inside. “Drive around the block for a bit,” she told the driver. “I need to figure out where I’m going next.”

 

The driver looked slightly annoyed, and she glared at him. “I’ll pay you, okay?” 

 

She needed to call Mikoto and ask where she was, because she needed a best friend chat ASAP. It was late now, and Mikoto had already mentioned that she wouldn’t be at home that evening, so Kushina needed to find out where she was.

 

Mikoto picked up the phone after a few rings.

 

“I need to talk to you, _now,”_ she said, before Mikoto could answer.

 

There was a pause on the other end, and then Mikoto said, “Is Minato okay?”

 

“Huh? Oh yeah, he’s fine. But I feel seriously weird, and it’s freaking me out! I really want to talk to you. Where are you?”

 

Mikoto hesitated. “…At Fugaku’s place.”

 

Kushina’s eyes widened, suddenly realising what had started this whole mess in the first place. “Oh my god, what the hell?! You and _him!”_

 

Mikoto sighed. “Come on Kushina, he told you to be quiet _once_. And to be fair, you _were_ in the middle of class.”

 

“He was a huge jerk about it though!”

 

“I really like him.” 

 

Kushina scowled at the seat in front of her. How could Mikoto like Fugaku? Mikoto was the most amazing person _ever,_ and Fugaku was — Fugaku! They were obviously incompatible.

 

“How come you’re at his house already if you’ve just started dating?” she asked suspiciously.

 

There was a pause on the other end. “…Because we haven’t just started dating?” 

 

“Mikoto!”

 

“It hasn’t been that long! It’s only been two weeks!”

 

“I feel so _betrayed!”_

 

“I was going to tell you! Soon! Very soon!”

 

“I should hang up the phone right now and — and go and buy a tub of mint ice cream, and eat it _all by myself!”_ Because Mikoto loved mint ice cream, and Kushina decided that it would be an appropriate form of revenge. Then she remembered her current predicament and huffed, realising that she still really needed to talk to Mikoto.

 

Well. She would’ve forgiven her after about an hour or so anyway (probably even sooner, since it _was_ Mikoto), so she supposed there was no harm in speeding up the process a bit.

 

“Can I come see you?” she asked.

 

Mikoto didn’t even question her friend’s mood swing. She’d known Kushina far too long for that. “I’ll text you the address.”

 

“Thanks! And…you don’t mind, right? Me barging into your… _boyfriends_ house?” Kushina grimaced slightly at the word.

 

“I’m actually having dinner with his brothers and parents right now,” Mikoto said. “So it can’t get much worse than that.” She sighed. “I _should_ probably go back inside now, though. I told them I was using the bathroom. I _really_ don’t think his mother likes me.”

 

“They’re obviously insane,” Kushina told her, because who couldn’t love _Mikoto?_ “I’ll be right over to save you from that torture.”

 

…

 

Mikoto looked considerably more cheerful once Kushina had barged in and interrupted the hellish dinner with her boyfriend’s parents. Most people probably _wouldn't_ be okay with their borderline insane best friend meeting (and unleashing the full might of their very _loud_ personality on) the family of the guy that they were _very_ interested in, but Mikoto figured that, if Fugaku really wanted to be a part of her life, he’d have to accept that Kushina wasn’t going anywhere.

 

Besides, Fugaku’s mother was driving her insane. And she were so _passive aggressive_ about it too, which made it even worse. 

 

She liked Fugaku, more than she ever thought she would. When he’d first asked her out, awkwardly avoiding her gaze and blushing (even though he fervently denied doing so), Mikoto hadn’t known what to think. She really didn’t know Fugaku Uchiha that well, and the stories she’d heard from Kushina didn’t exactly paint him in a positive light.

 

Then again, Kushina _did_ have a habit of exaggerating a bit. And she felt kind of bad saying no to him, when he obviously looked like he wanted to sink through the floor and stay there for a very long time.

 

People always said that Mikoto was too nice for her own good. A few hours and one successful date later, she considered that a good thing. After all, if she’d just said _no_ to Fugaku, she never would’ve discovered that he was actually a pretty cool guy when you got past the stoic, somewhat awkward personality, and actually got to know him. He was actually really sweet. _And_ she loved his dry sense of humour. She was so used to be surrounded by such huge, loud personalities, that it was kind of nice being around someone like him.

 

That did _not_ mean she was enjoying this dinner though. When Fugaku had asked her if she’d come to his place for dinner that night she’d agreed, mostly because Mikoto honestly hadn’t dated much before this, and had never really had a ‘meet the parents’ experience.

 

She was starting to realise why there were movies based on such events. From the moment she’d arrived, Fugaku’s mother had been staring at her in what she was _sure_ was barely concealed contempt. She’d told this to Fugaku, and he’d told her she was imagining it.

 

Mikoto inwardly scoffed. She was sure as hell _not_ imagining anything. Fugaku’s mother definitely didn’t like her — that smile on her face was so fake and so strained that Mikoto was almost worried it would stick that way.

 

“So, Mikoto,” Mrs. Uchiha said, _still_ smiling, “you say you haven’t dated much? _Really?_ A girl like you?” 

 

“A girl like me?” Mikoto asked, tensing.

 

Mrs. Uchiha paused. “…You’re just so…pretty. I’m surprised.” The smile at disappeared for the briefest moment though, and Mikoto had seen her expression darken a bit. 

 

So yes, there was obviously something very wrong with Fugaku’s mother, and no one else seemed to realise it. Fugaku’s father had barely looked up from his meal that whole night, other than the occasional, “Yes dear,” whenever his wife spoke to him (probably because he didn’t want to risk her snapping and killing him out of anger), and Fugaku and his brothers, Madara and Izuna, seemed equally as oblivious.

 

She’d gone outside to get some fresh hair when she’d gotten the phone call from Kushina, and decided _‘What the hell,’_ before sending her the address. This dinner was already bad (and Mikoto was _definitely_ going to give Fugaku a hard time about it later on, because _what the hell,_ he could’ve warned her that his mom was a complete psychopath), and the evil part of Mikoto really just wanted to inflict Kushina on the unsuspecting Mrs. Uchiha.

 

(She loved her best friend, but she was well aware that Kushina could be a bit…much at times).

 

So Kushina had shown up, and had recounted everything that had happened during her trip back from the hospital with Minato — obviously not slightly bothered by the fact that they weren’t alone; Kushina never had been particularly self-conscious — while the Uchihas looked on in disbelief, confusion and awe (the last one was all Izuna. Mikoto thought Fugaku’s little brother was pretty damn adorable). 

 

“ — And now my stomach just feels all _buzzy,_ ya know? And — flippy! Does that make sense!”

 

Mikoto nodded her head.

 

Mrs. Uchiha leaned over to Fugaku and hissed, “Who _is_ this girl?” 

 

Fugaku — who looked like he was honestly considering his life choices — muttered, “You don’t want to know.”

 

“What does that mean?! She’s sitting in my house, of course I want to know!”

 

“Did you really fall on some guy’s head?” Izuna asked, eyes wide. He was only thirteen, and apparently at that stage where he thought everything was cool — at least when a pretty girl was doing it. “Cool!”

 

“Izuna, bed!” 

 

“But _mom!”_

 

 _“I’m_ going to bed,” Madara groaned.

 

“No _you_ sit. Your little brother doesn’t need to hear tales of such…violence.” 

 

“…Mom she accidentally fell on some guy’s head, she didn’t try to murder him or anything.” 

 

Mikoto decided that she quite liked Madara.

 

“Oh it definitely wasn’t intentional!” Kushina assured them. “I mean sure, Minato was pretty weird back then, ya know? But if I was going to plot anyone’s death, it’d be Fugaku’s.”

 

 _“What?”_ both Fugaku and Mrs. Uchiha snapped. Neither Mr. Uchiha, Madara or Izuna looked particularly bothered.

 

“The problem is, after that, when we were heading home, he kept being all…nice! And smiling! And laughing! And I just…I dunno, it was making me feel all — ”

 

“Buzzy?” Izuna said, through a mouthful of mashed potatoes, repeating Kushina’s earlier phrase.

 

“Exactly!” Kushina said, beaming at him. He turned red, mouth gaping slightly. Mrs. Uchiha’s eye twitched, and Mikoto was suddenly very grateful that Kushina was her best friend.

 

Also, she had a very good idea of what was ‘wrong’ with her, and she wondered how to tactfully say that she obviously had a huge crush on the guy who she had almost literally crushed today.

 

“You know, Kushina,” Mr. Uchiha said, “I think I know what’s happening here.”

 

“Yeah?” Kushina asked, turning to him.

 

The man nodded calmly. “You’ve obviously picked up some sort of bug at that hospital.”

 

Mikoto winced. “Hey, I just remembered that I told my parents I’d be home soon,” she said. “I should probably head off now.”

 

She stood up, grabbing Kushina’s arm, and ignoring her protests of, “But we haven’t even had dessert yet!”

 

Fugaku walked them to the doorway, and gave Mikoto a flat look. 

 

“…We should do this again sometime,” she said.

 

 _“Never again,”_ he snapped. “We’ll just eat out from now on.” 

 

Mikoto took that as a positive sign — obviously that meant that her inviting her (lovably) insane best friend to his house without his permission, pretty much ruining dinner with his parents, and making his mother hate her even more, hadn’t been the final straw for him.

 

Huh. That was probably a very good sign for their relationship.

 

She leaned over and kissed him, ignoring Kushina’s cry of disgust. She’d been a pretty good friend this evening in her opinion, and Fugaku definitely deserved some sort of apology.

 

“See you tomorrow?” she asked.

 

“Obviously,” he grumbled. She grinned back at him.

 

…

 

“Do you think I did pick up something at the hospital?” Kushina mused as they walked to Mikoto’s house.

 

Mikoto gave her friend a flat look. “No, Kushina. You obviously have a massive crush on him.” 

 

“Nope,” Kushina said, shaking her head. “I’m an experienced slash fan fiction writer, Mikoto, so I know what liking someone feels like. With Minato I just feel really weird whenever he smiles or laughs, and I — oh…”

 

Mikoto smiled smugly. “I have a huge block of chocolate at home,” she said. “Want to talk about it?” 

 

Kushina nodded frantically.

 

…

 

Kushina liked to think that she didn’t hold herself back when she really wanted something. That’s why, the very next day, she sat herself down next to Minato in their shared class, and loudly declared, “I think I like you a lot, so do you want to go out with me sometime?” 

 

Minato stared at her, mouth opening and closing for a moment.

 

Their tutor huffed. “Could you _please_ wait until after class to do that?” 

 

Kushina rolled her eyes, and decided that the woman clearly wasn’t a romantic. 

 

Minato nodded, still looking a little shocked. “Uh, sure. Yeah, definitely.”

 

After class they hung back, both shooting furtive glances at each other. Kushina was used to him staring and it didn’t bother her as much as it usually did.

 

Oh. Wait.

 

“You _liked_ me! That’s why you were always staring!” 

 

Minato flushed. “I thought I was being subtle.”

 

“Pssh! Subtle! As if! I even nicknamed you ‘Weird Blonde Guy Who Stares A lot’.” 

 

“Huh?! But you said you had a _cool_ nickname for me!”

 

Oh yeah. Oops. 

 

“Yeah,” she said, shifting slightly, “but I did affectionately call you ‘Weirdo’ as well, so…” 

 

Minato sighed. “I _was_ going to ask you out. Eventually. I was just…building up the courage.” 

 

Kushina shrugged. “Well I just asked you out, so now you don't have to.”

 

Minato looked thoughtful for a moment. “Do you have a break after this?” he asked.  She nodded. “Want to go get lunch with me?” 

 

“…This doesn’t count. I asked you out first.”

 

Minato smiled, and Kushina’s stomach did that weird buzzy-flippy thing again. Dammit. 

 

“We can ramen,” he said, and Kushina decided that he was _definitely_ the coolest guy she’d ever met. 

 

“Let’s go,” she said, grabbing his hand, and not even bothering to hide her grin (neither was he, she noted with glee) as she dragged him out the door.

**Author's Note:**

> So...somehow I ended up writing this pretty much all in one go, and even though it was supposed to be pretty short, it ended up being around 4500 words long. Somehow. I just had way too much fun writing this.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this! I have way more fics planned for this series (the next one will probably be a Hashirama/Madara one I've had planned for a while, and now that I'm going on a reading binge of founders era fics, would probably be an appropriate time to write it) so if you have any requests, feel free to mention them :) Can't say I'll be able to write everything (because I've already outlined plans for some of the characters) but I'll try to fit them in!
> 
> Once again, hope you enjoyed this, and tell me what you thought :)


End file.
